Feds' weather information could go dark
By Robert P. King / AP
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Do you want a seven-day weather forecast for your ZIP code? Or hour-by-hour predictions of the temperature, wind speed, humidity and chance of rain? Or weather data beamed to your cellphone? That information is available for free from the National Weather Service.

Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up... by hilzoy Via Talking Points Memo, an article in the Palm Beach News tells us the...
Karl-Thomas Musselman: The Palm Beach Post reports... "Do you want a seven-day weather forecast for your ZIP code?
ArchPundit: You don't just plug in your clock when you want to know what time it is — Rick Santorum delivers up another gem in...

Josh Marshall: Indeed, the executive vice president of AccuWeather, Barry Myers, probably had to have his face specially treated with...
Ntodd @SuburbanGuerrilla: Raining On The Parade — Santorum is like the wind—he blows: [snipped quote] I'm incensed by this and not just for the obvious reasons.
Kos @DailyKos: Santorum is offended, and thanks to the persuassive ($$$) arguments of AccuWeather — a for-profit weather service — Santorum wants to eliminate the free service.

New Pope condemns Spain gay bill
By Robert Piggott / BBC
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Pope Benedict XVI has responded firmly to the first challenge of his papacy by condemning a Spanish government bill allowing marriage between homosexuals. The bill, passed by parliament's Socialist-dominated lower house, also allows gay couples to adopt.

Jan Haugland: Spain's lower house has passed a gay marriage law, and BBC News immediately connects the predictable Vatican condemnation to the new pope.
Natasha @PacificViews: The Pope & The Fuss — As Atrios points out, Spain has decided to legalize gay marriage, and the new Pope is tossing the...
Julian Sanchez: This has, of course, given Benny 16 his first red-meat issue: The new pope promptly condemned the law.

Tarek @LiquidList: This pope sounds like a real sweet fella and I'm sure he'll see your point about rubbers and AIDS because he seems like a real modern guy.
Tim Dunlop: For example, even today there is a report of the new Pope getting down and dirty with Spanish politics
Atrios: Church on Top — Looks like Pope Ratzi thinks he's in charge of the world now.

2 Evangelicals Want to Strip Courts' Funds
By Peter Wallsten / LAT
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WASHINGTON — Evangelical Christian leaders, who have been working closely with senior Republican lawmakers to place conservative judges in the federal courts, have also been exploring ways to punish sitting jurists and even entire courts viewed as hostile to their cause.

Lambert @Corrente: Frist's owners, the Dominionists, plan to abolish the independent judiciary — Some kind soul recorded a Dominionist...
Joe Gandelman: Two Evangelical Leaders Advocate Defunding Courts They Don't Like — If you don't like the way a judge or an entire court rules, take their money away.
Edward _: First from Kos comes this by the Republican I've always considered true to his vision, if at times belligerent, Barry...

McQ: But then comes this story from the LA Times in which we see the outline of a plan, supposedly driven by evangelical...
Avedon Carol: The LAT this morning has quotes from a tape of the right-wing gabfest where the loonies discussed plans to use Congress to defund the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Poorman: Michael Moore is fat — The latest faith-based initiative: "Evangelical Christian leaders, who have been working...

Judicial Insanity
By Charles Krauthammer / WaPo
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Provocation is no excuse for derangement. And there has been plenty of provocation: decades of an imperial judiciary unilaterally legislating radical social change on the flimsiest of constitutional pretexts.

Steve Bainbridge: As Charles Krauthammer recently observed: [snipped quote] The question for conservatives ought not to be whether we fight back.
Jeffrey Dubner: Especially compared to, say, Charles Krauthammer's obnoxious endorsement of DeLay's and John Cornyn's loose talk, it's refreshingly level-headed.
Clayton Cramer: "Judicial Insanity" — This is the title of a column by Charles Krauthammer—hardly a conservative.

Ramesh Ponnuru: KRAUTHAMMER ON JUDGES — I agree with a lot of his column today—which is no surprise, since I think he's one of the best, maybe the best, of the big-time conservative columnists.
Joe Gandelman: No one has ever accused columnist Charles Krauthammer of being a liberal and he has now roundly denounced what seems to be a systematic assault on the American judiciary.
Charles Paul Freund: Even conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer, a long-time critic of "judicial activists," has concluded that...

Frist Draws Criticism From Some Church Leaders
NYT
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WASHINGTON, April 21 - As the Senate battle over judicial confirmations became increasingly entwined with religious themes, officials of several major Protestant denominations on Thursday accused the Senate Republican leader, Bill Frist, of violating the...

Sam Rosenfeld: And here's The New York Times: "There were signs, though, that Dr. Frist was planning to postpone the confrontation...
James Joyner: Even Senator Frist's own church is urging him to back off: Frist Draws Criticism From Some Church Leaders (NYT) "As the...
Shawn @LiquidList: Well, finally, we see some rumbles of complaint: "Religious groups, including the National Council of Churches and the...

TChris: The Filibuster and People of Faith — Republican pandering to religious extremists may be endangering the filibuster,...
Hunter @DailyKos: People of Faith — [snipped quote] Psst — Dr. Frist, before you go gung-ho towards establishing religious tests for...

Sizzle, Yes, but Beef, Too
By Thomas L. Friedman / NYT
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New York Times columnists are not allowed to endorse U.S. presidential candidates. Only the editorial page does that. But in checking the columnist rule book, I couldn't find any ban on endorsing a candidate for prime minister of Britain. So I'm officially rooting for Tony Blair.

Armando @DailyKos: Wrong Lesson Friedman — Tom Friedman, yet again, demonstrates that when he gives advice, the person offered the advice should run in the other direction.
Roger L. Simon: Tom Freidman on Tony Blair — "There is much the U.S. Democratic Party could learn from Mr. Blair." No kidding!

Jeff Jarvis: Vote for Tony : I agree with every word of Tom Friedman's column endorsing Tony Blair... and I laughed at this

Baldilocks: While watching this incident on the tube a few hours ago, I remember thinking that, had I acted in this manner some...

Kevin Aylward: ABC News quotes the attorney for the family of the girl:"The police officers' actions are way over the top.

Army Clears Top Abu Ghraib Case Officers
By Robert Burns / AP
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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Army has cleared four top officers - including the three-star general who commanded all U.S. forces in Iraq - of all allegations of wrongdoing in connection with prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, officials said Friday.

Michael Froomkin: Army Clears Top Abu Ghraib Case Officers: The Army has cleared four top officers - including the three-star general who...

Jeralyn Merritt: Army Clears Officers in Abu Ghraib Abuse — The Army has cleared four top officers of wrongdoing in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandals.

Woman in Wendy's Finger Case Arrested
By Christina Almeida / AP
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LAS VEGAS - The woman who claimed she found a finger in her bowl of Wendy's chili last month has been arrested, the latest twist in a bizarre case about how the 1 1/2-inch finger tip ended up in a bowl of fast food.

Skippy: the asspress: anna ayala was taken into custody late thursday at her las vegas.
Joe Gandelman: Chili-Finger-Finder Now Under Thumb Of Law — All good and bad things must come to an end, and so it is in the saga of...
Clayton Cramer: Today's news: "LAS VEGAS (AP) - The woman who claimed she found a finger in her bowl of Wendy's chili last month has...

Captain Ed: Now, however, Ayala finds herself in a different arena in the justice system as Las Vegas police have arrested her in...
Susanna Cornett: Wendy's finger-lickin' lady is arrested — File this under "unsurprising": [snipped quote] And this is one big reason why: "As it turns out, Ayala has a litigious history.
Mitch Berg: Like You Couldn't See This Coming... The Wendy's Chili Woman has been been boxed up: [snipped quote] She'll be undergoing quite a grilling.

Bush Backs His U.N. Nominee, but Powell Warns of Volatility
By Douglas Jehl / NYT
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WASHINGTON, April 21 - President Bush on Thursday issued a strong new defense of John R. Bolton, his nominee as ambassador to the United Nations. But associates of Colin L. Powell, the former secretary of state, said he had expressed reservations about Mr. Bolton in conversations with at least two wavering Republican senators.

Digby: The Incredible Shrinking President — Ezra makes an interesting observation today: [snipped quote] As a matter of fact, I've been noticing the same thing.
Noam Scheiber: LINCOLN CHAFEE, TODAY'S BIG LOSER: John Bolton's nomination to be U.N. ambassador looks like it could be in serious...
Ezra Klein: Bolting on Bolton — Maybe I'm overestimating the power of Powell, but I have to think his decision to actively lobby against Bolton effectively kills the nomination.

Tarek @LiquidList: It's clear that Powell would oppose John Bolton's nomination as our ambassador to the U.N. So why doesn't he just raise his goddamn voice once and say it loud and clear?
Dan Froomkin: ' " Powell Comes Back to Bite Cheney Douglas Jehl writes in the New York Times: "President Bush on Thursday issued a...
Dr. Steven Taylor: The NYT, Powell and Bolton — Via the NYT: Bush Backs His U.N. Nominee, but Powell Warns of Volatility "President Bush...

Moussaoui Pleads Guilty in 9/11 Conspiracy
By Pete Yost / AP
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"/ Osama bin Laden to fly a plane into the White House during a later attack. "/ Pentagon in 2001. He pleaded to six conspiracy counts, four of which could bring the death penalty. He said he would contest such a sentence, which prosecutors say they intend to pursue.

Jeralyn Merritt: Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted Zacarias Moussaoui's guilty pleas today to every charge in the Indictment, four of which could end in a death sentence.

Senator to Try New Strategy on Accounts for Retirees
NYT
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WASHINGTON, April 21 - The Senate Finance Committee chairman, Charles E. Grassley, said Thursday that he would try to produce a Social Security bill with the support of Republicans alone, in an effort to jump-start a legislative effort now stymied by solid Democratic opposition.

Josh Marshall: As the Times reports this morning and USA Today did yesterday, Chairman Grassley plans to use the Finance Committee...
Pudentilla: grassley will walk awol's social security plank alone — [snipped quote] someday, some republican who was in congress...

Bush Cancels Great Smoky Mountains Visit
By Nedra Pickler / AP
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WASHINGTON - President Bush canceled an Earth Day visit to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Friday because of bad weather. White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the threat of hail and thunder storms was keeping the president from...

BobcatJH: Meanwhile, the president is looking forward to washing the blood from his hands getting his hands dirty: ...
Cookie Jill: it's not nice to screw with mother nature she gets mad [snipped quote] wait until you see what she has coming for you...

Tarek @LiquidList: The fair-and-balanced Washington Times notes a discrepancy in a trip to Puerto Rico taken by some Democrats, but manages...
Hugh Hewitt: Nancy Pelosi/glass houses update here. Meanwhile, MoveOn.org targets Pelosi's competitor in the race to become the...

McQ: Now we have the same sort of questions being aimed at Nancy Pelosi: "The Washington Times reported earlier this week...
Howard Kurtz: The Washington Times is looking for DeLay-like behavior among Dems: "House Republicans yesterday called on Minority...

Odd numbers
By Tim Harford / Financial Times
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At first, Steven Levitt is not sure where we should go for lunch. We're meeting in his home city of Chicago, a place I have never visited, so I haven't a clue what to suggest.

Brad DeLong: Nice to see: washingtonpost.com: Greenspan Says He Expects Tax Increases: "Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said...
Donald Luskin: The Washington Post says in the lede of a story today that "Alan Greenspan said yesterday, for the first time...

Matthew Yglesias: Poor misunderstood Alan Greenspan now wants the world to know "that his support for tax cuts in early 2001...

Passing the Buck
By Paul Krugman / NYT
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The United States spends far more on health care than other advanced countries. Yet we don't appear to receive more medical services. And we have lower life-expectancy and higher infant-mortality rates than countries that spend less than half as much per person.

Steve Antler: Lack of confidence in the material itself... I don't agree with lots of it, but this is worth reading and considering.
Orrin Judd: Passing the Buck (PAUL KRUGMAN, 4/22/05, NY Times) [snipped quote] Hey, even Paul Krugman can figure out why we need universal Health Savings Accounts.

Whoppers and the End of an Epidemic
By John Luik / TCS
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It isn't just that they were fudging the numbers, it is the scope of the fudging that is so breathtaking. For the last few years Americans have been subjected to an incessant barrage of warnings about the risks of dying from being fat.

Bill @INDCJournal: Because while the Feds did indeed muff the numbers, the spin that almost shallowly scoffs at aggressive caution about...
Glenn Reynolds: SOME OBSERVATIONS ON FRAUD AND FAT: Many people will find this a relief.

Susanna Cornett: John Luik at TCS has a column on it that looks more closely at the numbers: "[E]ven the 25,814 deaths per year from...

Hell's Kitchen
By Steve Fishman / New York Magazine
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This much we know: The day that Marine Lieutenant Ilario Pantano killed the two men was like any other day in Iraq. It was a year ago, though no one could initially recall the date. The afternoon was drawing to a close. Soon, it would be dark.

Phillip Carter: The trials of USMC Lt. Ilario Pantano — New York magazine has an amazing profile of Marine Lieutenant Ilario Pantano,...

Blackfive: JarheadDad sent this excellent article about the incident and Ilario Pantano. It's seven pages long, but it's very, very good.

Let Cookie Monster Be Cookie Monster
NRO
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Social engineers go way too far. The producers of Sesame Street have decided that Cookie Monster is gay. Hold the phone. I'm kidding. But try to hold onto your reaction for a moment because what they've really done to Cookie Monster is worse, they've taken away his reason for being.

Kris Murray: According to Jonah Goldberg over at National Review Online, the producers of Sesame Street have decided to completely destroy Cookie Monster.
Steve Dillard: That's the way the Cookie Monster crumbles: Is nothing sacred anymore?

Ace: To borrow from another cynically humorous take on WWII, "And so it goes." They got Cookie Monster. They disappeared him.

Crisis of Faith
By Andrew Sullivan / TNR
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"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem." "We have a responsibility that, when somebody hurts, government has got to move." —George W. Bush, September 1, 2003

Michael Signer: The Theocon Threat — Andrew Sullivan has a terrific piece up in today's TNR called "Crisis of Faith".

John Cole: Crisis of Faith — A pretty perceptive piece by Andrew Sullivan about what I have been feeling as of late regarding the GOP.

Lay Off Our Judiciary
By Theodore B. Olson / WSJ
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A prominent member of the Senate leadership recently described a Supreme Court justice as "a disgrace." An equally prominent member of the leadership of the House of Representatives on the other side of the political aisle has characterized another justice's approach to adjudication as "incredibly outrageous."

Jeffrey Dubner: His op-ed in The Wall Street Journal is spot-on regarding Tom DeLay, court-stripping, judicial impeachment, and even the nuclear option.
Glenn Reynolds: TED OLSON, NO QUICHE-EATING LEFTY, writes that Republicans should lay off the judiciary: [snipped quote] He also...

James Joyner: Former Bush Solicitor General Ted Olsen, writing in the Wall Street Journal, warns congressional Republicans to "Lay Off Our Judiciary."

Salazar lets fly
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer / Rocky Mountain News
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WASHINGTON - Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., intensified his war of words with Focus on the Family on Thursday, accusing its evangelical Christian leaders of trying to turn the United States into a theocracy.

The Poorman: Ken Salazar hits back: "Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., intensified his war of words with Focus on the Family on Thursday,...

Armando @DailyKos: The Senator points out that Focus on the Family board member R. Albert Mohler, Jr said: [snipped quote] Salazar called on James Dobson to repudiate Mohler.

Treasury feels White House heat on policy
By Andrew Balls / Financial Times
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The Bush administration's sudden shift on China's currency regime last week came as a surprise to many. After several years of claiming its "financial diplomacy" was paying dividends, the US Treasury suddenly called for China to move immediately to a flexible currency.

Dan Froomkin: The Power of the White House Andrew Balls in the Financial Times mulls the Bush administration's sudden shift of...

Climate Research Faulted Over Missing Components
By Andrew C. Revkin / NYT
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The Bush administration's program to study climate change lacks a major component required by law, according to Congressional investigators. The program fails to include periodic assessments of how rising temperatures may affect people and the environment.

Tarek @LiquidList: The General Accountability Office helpfully points out that Bush administration research on climate change and the environment illegally omits key segments.
Pudentilla: gao: awol's boys are cheating on environmental studies — [snipped quote] why does the gao think awol has to obey the law?

Chris Mooney: Earth Day — If there's one article to read this morning, it's Andy Revkin's piece in the New York Times.

To Dems, It's 1974 Forever
By David Gelernter / LAT
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Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced recently that he is worried about the "hard, hard right" of the Republican Party, people whose goal is to turn "the clock back to the 1930s or the 1890s." I've never met one myself. He wants to conceal the Big Switch that has transformed American politics.

Ken Masugi: Gelernter on Progress and Reaction — LAT conservative columnist David Gelernter argues that "Today the Democrats are the party of reactionary liberalism.

Kevin Drum: This morning's column is just embarrassing, the sort of thing the Onion might run as a parody of an op-ed.

Ronald Bailey: MTV Celebrates Earth Day — Few things are more contemptible than rich celebs glorifying poverty. Read it and weep.

Zoo Tries to Get Chimp to Kick the Habit
AP
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BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa — A South African zoo wants a chimpanzee to quit smoking cold turkey. Keepers say Charlie the chimpanzee picked up the habit from visitors at the Bloemfontein Zoo who sometimes toss him cigarettes.

Commissar: Chimp Nic Fit — Zoo Tries to Get Chimp to Kick the Habit [snipped quote] Next they will probably try to take away his Halo 2 and stop him from watching "Numa Numa" 24 x 7.

PBS Scrutiny Raises Political Antennas
By Paul Farhi / WaPo
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Liberal commentator Bill Moyers is out on PBS stations. Buster the animated rabbit is under a cloud of suspicion. And right-wing yakkers from the Wall Street Journal editorial page have been handed their own public-television chat show.

Garrett M. Graff: Paul Farhi has an article today pointing to a recent series of controversies involving political correctness (as well as the odd appointment of two ombudsmen for the first time).
Jim Romenesko: Claim: PBS is being forced to toe a more conservative line — Washington Post A senior FCC official tells Paul Farhi...

Will Collier: Oh, That Liberal Media — The first time I read this New York Sun story, I almost figured it was a put-on.
Scott @PowerLine: As our readers helped us guess last night, the mystery witness is Senator Kennedy's brother-in-law Raymond Reggie: "A Kennedy relative acted as informant in Democrat circles."

Strict Construction
By Ross Douthat / TNR
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The election of Benedict XVI, at least in the Western press, is being interpreted primarily as a blow to liberal Catholicism—the Catholicism that has endured a kind of exile since the late 1960s, when it became clear that the post-Vatican II renovation in Church teaching was not to be as sweeping as many hoped.

Dan Froomkin: Gallup reports: "Half of all Americans, up from 38 percent four years ago, now say Bush is doing a poor job of...

Riggsveda @Corrente: As for his "clear and strong example", I'd guess that would have to be his promotion of mountaintop removal mining...

Spain tries 9/11 terror suspects
BBC
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Three men have appeared in court in Spain charged with helping to plan the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US. They include the alleged head of an al-Qaeda cell in Spain, who is accused of arranging a meeting allegedly attended by one of the 19 attackers.

Mike Chandler: From across "the pond" — The trial that has started in Spain of a number of individuals suspected of being members of...

Jan Haugland: Anti-terror case starts in Spain — A large court case against terrorist suspects begins in Spain, including cases...

Next Crisis at U.N. May Involve Ties Of Volcker, Strong
By Benny Avni / New York Sun
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UNITED NATIONS - The next chapter in the United Nations crisis may erupt over U.N. investigator Paul Volcker's membership on the board of one of Canada's biggest companies, Power Corporation, since a past president of the firm, Canadian tycoon Maurice Strong, is now tied to the oil-for-food scandal.

Damian Penny: Paul Volcker, the man the UN hired to investiate the program: The next chapter in the United Nations crisis may erupt...

Roger L. Simon: According to this Benny Avni article in this morning's NY Sun - Avni, btw, has been doing some of the best reporting on...

Howard Kurtz: The L.A. Times has that story too. Nominations sink only when members of the president's own party turn on his choice.
Pudentilla: bailing on bolton — [snipped quote] funny how all those folks named to public office by awol hate bolton. one might even say that opposition to bolton is bipartisan.

Woman who claimed to find finger in chili arrested
AP
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Permalink
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) — The woman who claimed she found a well-manicured finger in her bowl of Wendy's chili last month was arrested Thursday night in Las Vegas, police said. Anna Ayala was taken into custody at her home, San Jose police spokesman Enrique Garcia said.

JoelF @SouthernAppeal: The would-be plaintiff (if only people would make the law suit less emotionally draining) is under arrest.

Canada's Martin Promises New Vote
By Doug Struck / WaPo
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TORONTO, April 21 — Prime Minister Paul Martin on Thursday promised to call a new federal election late this year or early next year, 30 days after a federal judge finishes an inquiry into a political scandal that Martin said was "an unjustified mess."

Wretchard: However, this same Maurice Strong has connections to Paul Martin, the Prime Minister of Canada who is now being accused...

Cori Dauber: Here, to an American, is the amazing part: It was the first time in a decade a prime minister has asked to make a nationwide televised address.

Armando @DailyKos: It is now apparent that this outrageous lie, that the Dems are changing the rules, is a new GOP meme. But the lie is easily called.

John Hawkins: Just consider how this is going to play out: 1) Since 2003, the Democrats have been demanding that the GOP ignore the...

Iraq's murky corpse mystery
By Jim Muir / BBC
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In a country where things often turn out to be different from the way they at first seem, the retrieval of around 60 corpses from the Tigris River near al-Suwayra, south of Baghdad, is one of the murkiest and most complex stories to hit the headlines in recent months.

Joseph Britt: This BBC report suggests that in fact insurgents may have operated from that town but the kidnapping never took place.
Juan Cole: The BBC attempts to clear up the mystery of the bodies found in the Tigris River near al-Suwayra, and their connection,...

Avedon Carol: Iraq's murky corpse mystery suggests that there might be some ethnic cleansing going on in Iraq.

Let Cookie Monster be Cookie Monster
By Jonah Goldberg / Townhall.com
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Permalink
The producers of "Sesame Street" have decided that Cookie Monster is gay. Hold the phone. I'm kidding. But try to hold onto your reaction for a moment because what they've really done to Cookie Monster is worse - they've taken away his reason for being.

Joanne Jacobs: Jonah Goldberg protests. "The whole point of the Cookie Monster character was to have a character who was silly because he ate so much.

Cori Dauber: Some Gaps — Some surprising gaps in the Post's coverage of the helicopter shoot down yesterday: In Ramadi, a western...
James Joyner: Insurgents Down Civilian Helicopter Near Baghdad, Killing 11 — Insurgents Down Civilian Helicopter Near Iraqi Capital...

Michelle Malkin: I can barely squeeze one out." *** More coverage from the NY Times and Washington Post.

Microsoft Comes Under Fire for Reversal on Gay Rights Bill
By Sarah Kershaw / NYT
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Permalink
SEATTLE, April 21 - The Microsoft Corporation, at the forefront of corporate gay rights for decades, is coming under fire from gay rights groups, politicians and its own employees for withdrawing its support for a state bill that would have barred discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Ann Althouse: This front page story, about how Microsoft withdrew its support for a state law banning discrimination based on sexual...
Edward _: Now that The New York Times has confirmed the story, are ya a little less skeptical Kip? — Ken Hutcherson may very well cut an imposing figure.

John Cole: What will move you to threaten a corporation with a nationwide boycott of Christians? Simple. Anti-discrimination legislation.
Lambert @Corrente: At least linux doesn't wuss out when bigots come calling — And how could linux wuss out, anyhow?

Powell Plays Behind the Scenes Role in Bolton Debate
WaPo
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Permalink
Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell is emerging as a behind the scenes player in the battle over John Bolton's nomination to the United Nations, privately telling at least two key Republican lawmakers that Bolton is smart, but a very problematic government official, according to Republican sources.

Steve Clemons: Here is an excerpt from an article by Jim VandeHei and Robin Wright in the Washington Post today: [snipped quote] I have...
Joe Gandelman: The Washington Post also has a strikingly similar piece on this — which by journalistic rules certainly qualifies as strong confirmation that this is indeed taking place.
Steve Soto: Both the Post and the Times are reporting in their Friday editions that Powell has spoken to GOP senators about Bolton and failed to endorse him for the job.

Josh Marshall: Articles in Friday's NYTimes and Post describe how the former Secretary of State (and Bolton's boss in the first...
Pejman Yousefzadeh: BACKING—OR NOT BACKING—JOHN BOLTON — Obviously, Colin Powell has the right to whatever opinion of John Bolton that he...
Joseph Britt: The Penny Drops — I had wondered when we would hear something about John Bolton from Colin Powell, his former boss.

Bolton Gets Unequivoval Backing From Bush, but Not Powell
By Douglas Jehl / NYT
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Permalink
WASHINGTON, April 21 - President Bush issued a strong new defense today of John R. Bolton, his nominee as ambassador to the United Nations, even as associates of Colin L. Powell, the former secretary of state, said that Mr. Powell had expressed reservations about Mr. Bolton in conversations with at least two wavering Republican senators.

Howard Kurtz: Colin Powell is the latest to weigh in, through back-channel leaks: "President Bush issued a strong new defense today...
Kos @DailyKos: Powell does not back Bolton — Bush wants to stand behind the serial abuser Bolton for UN chief, but in a high-profile defection, Powell will not.
Tim Cavanaugh: Drudge links to Washington Post and New York Times coverage.

Joe Gandelman: The New York Times reports this: "President Bush issued a strong new defense today of John R. Bolton, his nominee as...
Kevin Drum: According to the New York Times, his former boss Colin Powell has been chatting with Republican senators and has "made...
Lorie Byrd: Is Powell Working Against Bolton? There is a lot going on behind the scenes in this one. (Link via Drudge)

Soldier Convicted for Attacking Fellow Troops
By Estes Thompson / AP
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Permalink
An Army sergeant was convicted Thursday by a military jury of premeditated murder and attempted murder in a grenade and rifle attack that killed two of his comrades and wounded 14 others in Kuwait during the opening days of the Iraq war.

Cori Dauber: So, good for the Washington Post for putting the conviction of that soldier who attacked his comrades immediately before the war in Iraq started on pg.

Avedon Carol: Dwight Meredith says the nuclear option is becoming less likely, and quotes from an article in The Hill that says even Santorum appears to be getting cold feet.
John Hawkins: The latest story is that Rick Santorum wants to apply "the brakes" because the polling data doesn't look all that hot.
Kos @DailyKos: Santorum wants slowdown on Nuclear Option — One of the strongest proponents of the nuclear option, Rick Santorum, is getting weak in the knees thanks to the polls.

Ace: Rick Santorum wants do delay attempting the "nuclear option" to break filibusters, based on bad polling: [snipped quote] I never really thought they'd have the stones to do it.
Billmon: And it looks like it may be time once again for the religious wackos to be sold down the river by their GOP "allies"
John @PowerLine: Reader Sean Rushton pointed out this disquieting article in The Hill: [snipped quote] The GOP's Senate leadership knows a...

Roe's Birth, and Death
By David Brooks / NYT
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Permalink
Justice Harry Blackmun did more inadvertent damage to our democracy than any other 20th-century American. When he and his Supreme Court colleagues issued the Roe v. Wade decision, they set off a cycle of political viciousness and counter-viciousness that has poisoned public life ever since, and now threatens to destroy the Senate as we know it.

Guest @ThinkProgress: Like a kneejerk radical conservative, he attempts to blame all our political problems on the infamous Supreme Court...
Norbizness: David Brooks Is a Turd — C'mon, give the states a shot at this.
Barbara O'Brien: Still Vegetating — TBogg already wrote the perfect response to today's David Brooks atrocity. I just want to elaborate.

Jim Henley: Clark Stooksbury and Michael Berubé offer differing perspectives on David Brooks, judicial review and Roe v. Waid.
Chris Lawrence: Brooks on Roe — A good David Brooks piece appeared in today's New York Times on the hyperpoliticization of the abortion issue in the wake of Roe v. Wade.
Clayton Cramer: Overturning Roe v. Wade (1973) & Political Civility — A recent David Brooks column argues that Roe v. Wade (1973) has...

Sam Rosenfeld: Here's today's Washington Post: "Some senators thought the rule-change showdown might occur next week, but the Senate will take up the highway bill instead.
Hugh Hewitt: The break-the-filibuster vote moved closer today with the Senate Judiciary Committee action on previously blocked nominees Janice Rogers Brown and Priscilla Owen.
Kevin Drum: The Washington Post reports that two filibusterable candidates were sent to the Senate floor today. A showdown is now imminent.

Diplomat Disputes Bolton Testimony
CBS News
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(CBS/AP) President Bush personally came to the defense of his embattled nominee for United Nations ambassador on Thursday, telling reporters that despite mounting criticism, John R. Bolton deserved to be confirmed by the Senate.

Howard Kurtz: And CBS's Gloria Borger found a former administration official who challenged Bolton's veracity: "Bolton's fate grew...
Nico @ThinkProgress: "- 10/03/04" And yesterday… [quote] "President Bush personally came to the defense of his embattled nominee for United...[end quote]

Avedon Carol: He also cites a WaPo story that acknowledges how out of touch the Republicans are with the rest of the country as their...
Dwight Meredith: Eric links today to a Washington Post story about how out if touch with the concerns of the American people Washington...
Dr. Steven Taylor: And Now: The Economy — Via WaPo: Economic Worries Aren't Resonating on Hill "Inflation and interest rates are rising,...

Ruy Teixeira: More evidence that economic pessimism is running rampant is provided in article today in the Washington Post, "Economic Worries Aren't Resonating on the Hill".
Tarek @LiquidList: The Post's above the fold story this morning on the economy demonstrates just how much things have changed, and how...
Guest @ThinkProgress: Greenspan: Bush Budget Bankrupting America — The Washington Post today reports that the economic worries of Americans just are not registering with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Todd Zywicki: The Washington Times also noted yesterday that 73 Democrats voted in favor of the bill in the House, one of the more...
Avedon Carol: Xan at Corrente suspects the Republicans are getting their lines from Eric Cartman after reading a knee-slapper in the...

Pejman Yousefzadeh: I SENSE WE ARE GOING 'ROUND IN CIRCLES — Consider this article—regarding why Democrats are supporting certain Republican bills.
Xan @Corrente: As Lambert pointed out last night, accommodationism with These People gets you a ticket on a fast train to...

Districts and Teachers' Union Sue Over Bush Law
By Sam Dillon / NYT
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Opening a new front in the growing rebellion against President Bush's signature education law, the nation's largest teachers' union and eight school districts in Michigan, Texas and Vermont sued the Department of Education yesterday, accusing it of violating a...

Avedon Carol: She also brings to our attention another NYT article on teachers and school districts suing Bush over No Child's Behind Left.)
John Hawkins: Teachers' Union Suit Sparks 'No Bureaucrat Left Behind' — Satire By Scott Ott — President George Bush, faced with a...
Joanne Jacobs: 'No Bureaucrat Left Behind' — Faced with a teachers' union lawsuit, President George W. Bush has announced the 'No Bureaucrat Left Behind' plan, Scrappleface reports.

Dan Froomkin: The 'No-Child' Revolution Sam Dillon writes in the New York Times: "Opening a new front in the growing rebellion...
Orrin Judd: THE LEFT JOINS THE CONSTITUTION IN EXILE MOVEMENT: Districts and Teachers' Union Sue Over Bush Law (SAM DILLON, 4/21/05,...
Pudentilla: red and blue states unite in opposition to nclb — [snipped quote] when they realize awol's goal is to destroy public...

A Catholic Call for Dissent
By Charles E. Curran / LAT
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I grew up as a typical pre-Vatican II Catholic. I entered the seminary at 13 and became a priest 11 years later, never questioning church teachings. But as a moral theologian in the 1960s, I began to see things differently, ultimately concluding that...

Avedon Carol: It must be news — In yesterday's LAT, Charles Curran talks about how Ratzinger got him fired for not agreeing with some current church positions.
Steve Bainbridge: He said it, not me — Commenting on defrocked Catholic theologian Charles Curran's LA Times attack on Pope Benedict XVI,...

Tim Dunlop: God only knows — Interesting story in the LA Times today that more or less bears out the points I was making in the...
Kevin Drum: Here's his account in the LA Times today: [snipped quote] That's par for the course. Six out of seven of those items are related to sex and gender.

Howard Dean warns of danger in Iraq pullout
By Conrad Defiebre / Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Howard Dean came to Minnesota Wednesday evening without the scream that ended his 2004 presidential campaign, or the anti-Iraq war rhetoric that started it. "Now that we're there, we're there and we can't get out," he told an audience of nearly 1,000 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Hugh Hewitt: And Howard Dean cheerfully admits he has zero class. (HT: Powerline.)
Charles Johnson: Howard Dean: Picture of Class — In Minnesota, Howard Dean showed once again the sense of dignity and class that makes him the perfect man to lead the Democratic Party.
K. J. Lopez: More Dean: "Between a speech he delivered without notes and a question-answer session, Dean regaled an appreciative...

John @PowerLine: The Gift That Keeps On Giving — If you haven't already seen it, the Minneapolis Star Tribune's account of Howard Dean's...
Pejman Yousefzadeh: With antics like this one: [snipped quote] I don't listen to Rush Limbaugh. I have no brief for Rush Limbaugh.
Michelle Malkin: Here's how DNC chair Howard Dean gave voice to the Democrat value of compassion.

Who Pays $600 for Jeans?
By Guy Trebay / NYT
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COLLETTE LEONARD would probably be the first to tell you that the premium denim thing is a little out of hand. She is aware of how loopy it is to lose one's senses in the quest for a neatly packaged posterior.

Avedon Carol: Via The Road to Surfdom. Pudentilla discovers a stupid question in the NYT: Who Pays $600 for Jeans?
Jan Haugland: Good question: Who Pays $600 for Jeans? And the answer is, apparently, fashionable women who are very conscious about their behinds.

Ann Althouse: While some women are paying maybe $600 for pair of jeans to distinguish themselves in our heavily jeans-clad culture,...
Pudentilla: stupid question: [snipped quote] easy answer: people who want middle class tax payers to save them from the ravages of the estate tax.

Forget Blogs
By Graham Webster / Editor and Publisher
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Among forward-looking media thinkers, many of them with more experience in journalism that I have on this earth, I have developed an apparently unpopular opinion. The blog craze has prompted dozens of newspapers and other news outlets to produce or plan blogs for their own Web sites.

Rex Hammock: But this column certainly is idiocy. The "young reporter" at Editor & Publisher says "blogs are a horrible way to deliver journalism...and forget them."
Jeff Jarvis: Dinosaur roar : The frequently clueless Editor & Publisher, voice of the newspaper industry (:cough:), is without clue...

Reverence Gone Up in Smoke
By Tina Brown / WaPo
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"Secular and the City" is a weird show to be in at the moment. For those of us who came to Manhattan precisely because you're guaranteed never to meet anyone who has read the "Left Behind" series, America's much-celebrated spiritual revival can have its trying moments.

TheAnchoress: Betsy Newmark: wonders just why it is that snippety secularist society types like Tina Brown feel they should have so much to say about the new pope.
Lorie Byrd: The Anchoress On Brown "Dreck" — The latest post by the Anchoress begins like this: "I don't know when I have read a...
Kevin Aylward: Columnists Contempt For Catholicism — Tina Brown gives a breathtaking example of the visceral hatred of religion...

Tim Graham: TINA'S TRAUMA — You have to love reading Tina Brown, since her columns for the WashPost seem to confirm what every...
Ed Driscoll: [quote]See how she puts it today: "For those of us who came to Manhattan precisely because you're guaranteed never to meet...[end quote]
Betsy Newmark: Well, if you haven't been offended yet about how the elites are treating the selection of the new pope, read Tina Brown today.

Have a Nice Day, or Else
By George F. Will / WaPo
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It hurt her feelings, says Jane Fonda, sharing her feelings, that one of her husbands liked them to have sexual threesomes. "It reinforced my feeling I wasn't good enough." In the Scottsdale, Ariz., Unified School District office, the receptionist used to be called a receptionist.

Radley Balko: George is into it. What in the world is George Will trying to do with his column this week?
TheAnchoress: Maxed Out Mama, who does not suffer fools gladly, and for this we bless God, highlightes George Will's excellent column...

Dale Franks: Suck it up, Nancy-boy — George Will writes that the rise of therapeutic culture is turning us into a bunch on whining ninnies.
Richard Reeb: George Will Takes on the "Nice" People — Premier columnist George Will takes on the army of professional "feelings"...

Retreat of Antarctic ice gathers pace
By Fiona Harvey / Financial Times
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Glaciers in the Antarctic are retreating at an increasing rate, in what scientists said on Thursday was a clear sign of climate change. Most of the glaciers on the Antarctic peninsula, near the southernmost tip of South America, have retreated over the...

Clayton Cramer: The Financial Times article is breathless: "Glaciers in the Antarctic are retreating at an increasing rate, in what...

The bashing of Bolton, &c.
NRO
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The John Bolton mess tells us a lot about the current debate over U.S. foreign policy, and about the differences between the two political parties. James Taranto, at OpinionJournal.com the other day, had a great catch.

Ace: Seems like the hyperpartisan hack Dana Milbank at the WaPo has committed a Kinsley-type gaffe: "James Taranto, at OpinionJournal.com the other day, had a great catch.
John Hawkins: "— Jay Nordlinger"

Betsy Newmark: Jay Nordlinger is spot on again. "The John Bolton mess tells us a lot about the current debate over U.S. foreign policy,...

Bush: Politics stalling Bolton vote
CNN
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WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush on Thursday urged senators to "put aside politics" and confirm John Bolton as the country's new U.N. ambassador, calling him "the right man at the right time for this important assignment."

Laura Rozen: Far more than a partisan fight between Republicans and Democrats as the White House would have us believe, this is...
Steve Bainbridge: Bolton — As I understand it, the official case against John Bolton's appointment as UN ambassador consists largely of...

Steve Clemons: From a CNN Report: [snipped quote] Has the President read the dossier?

John Cole: Via Ace, we see this nonsense from the folks on the other side of the aisle: "Senate Democrats are quietly trying to...

Why They Ran
By Peggy Noonan / Opinion Journal
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There were many moving and dramatic moments in Rome two days ago, but this is the one I think I'll remember: the sight of them running. Did you see them running to St. Peter's Square as the bells began to toll?

TheAnchoress: Peggy Noonan: I like this piece very much, and so I am linking to it again here, although I had excepted from it here.
Roger Ailes: Meanwhile, Peggy Noonan gives Benny the Rat a virtual knuckle job: [snipped quote] Jay-P died on the vigil of Feast of the Divine Mercy.

Ann Althouse: I guess everyone's going to link to Peggy Noonan's essay about the new pope, and I wasn't going to pope-blog, but this...
Steve Bainbridge: Why I Really Like Peggy Noonan — Her take on Benedict XVI is spot on: [snipped quote] I'll have more to say about this very fine column a bit later.

Ann Althouse: I wasn't going to pope-blog, but this NYT article makes the new pope story all about American politics: "Pope Benedict...
Maya @SuburbanGuerrilla: It so irritates me when non-Catholic Republicans like Bush start using Catholic dogma to further their agenda.
K. J. Lopez: Thank you, thank you, New York Times.

Tom Maguire: The NY Times tiptoes up to the question of whether, and how, the newly elected Pope intervened in the last Presidential election.
Betsy Newmark: Perhaps this is the real reason why so many in America seem tobe so offended by the choice of Cardinal Ratzinger to be pope.

Conn. approves gay civil unions
By Sarah Schweitzer / Boston Globe
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HARTFORD — Connecticut became the second state in the nation yesterday to create civil unions for gays and lesbians. The move disappointed some gay-rights activists who had hoped to see the state follow Massachusetts' lead in creating same-sex marriage and angered some conservatives who said the measure was a step in the direction of gay nuptials.

Ace: Connecticut Approves Civil Unions... Through Democratic Means — I'm still very much undecided on civil unions, as I...
Oliver @LiquidList: Politics: Always Has Been A Civil Part of the Union — Before I forget: KUDOS to my home state of Connecticut!

The Bolton Mugging
Opinion Journal
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So John Bolton's nomination to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations is said to be in trouble, as a couple of Senate Republicans waver amid reports that he has been rude to subordinates.

Betsy Newmark: The Wall Street Journal has a strong editorial about what has been happening to John Bolton's nomination.

Scott @PowerLine: A familiar melody — In its editorial on "The Bolton mugging," the Wall Street Journal cuts through much of the smoke that shrouds what has happened.

Mystery of Unpopped Popcorn Is Discovered
By Rick Callahan / AP
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INDIANAPOLIS — Eat your way to the bottom of almost any bag of popcorn and there they are: the rock-hard, jaw-rattling unpopped kernels known as old maids. The nuisance kernels have kept many a dentist busy, but their days could be numbered: Scientists say they now know why some popcorn kernels resist popping into puffy white globes.

Jan Haugland: Why some popcorn don't pop — It's a major scientific breakthrough: Eat your way to the bottom of almost any bag of...
Betsy Newmark: How wonderful it is when one of life's little mysteries is solved.

Chris Bowers: Dick Morris, who kos dubbed "the GOP's Mr. CW" has even written that "now that Iraq seems to be more pacified, and the...

Phil Anschutz: Media Wildcatter
Business Week
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By the time the idea of making a movie about the life of singer Ray Charles was pitched to Philip F. Anschutz, just about every major Hollywood studio had passed on it. Young people wouldn't know Charles, producer Stuart Benjamin was told.